So last night I took a major step forward in my life and rode the train!! I left my car at the train station in Orange and rode all the way to San Juan Capistrano to meet Josh for dinner. It only took 30 minutes and was seriously so exciting.
It was a little nervewracking walking up to the station, not knowing where to go, but I found the electronic ticket sales machine and figured it out pretty easily. I bought a one way tickt to SJC for $7 and then walked to the other side of the tracks, since I was going South. I even made a friend while I was sitting there waiting for the train to arrive. He was this great old man who said that he's been riding the train for 3 years now, and that once you ride the train, you'll never want to drive your car again. Well, its true. I wish I lived farther from work so I could buy a train pass and ride it every day!!
So once I got on the train, I was really impressed with the riders. They all seemed slightly more stylish than the average person, and a bit smarter too. This is probably me reading into way too much, but its just an observation. Lots of people had bikes too. So rad.
I've taken public transportation in tons of other cities, but it was so surreal to hear the announcer (conductor perhaps?) say the names of the cities, and have it be ones I'm so familiar with. We stopped in Santa Ana, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and then San Juan Capistrano. Totally painless and totally amazing.
Needless to say, the train is going straight to the top of my obsession list, right next to typewriters.
